Life begins in the warmth of someone else’s care. A child does not learn to walk alone; someone holds their hand. They do not sleep soundly without a lullaby or eat without being fed. Everything in the early stages of life is a shared journey. Dependence is not just normal; it is safe. It becomes a comfort zone so familiar that one starts to believe it will always be there. But how do you start over when everything that kept you grounded is now kilometres away?
Living independently as a college student is not a transformation. It is slow erosion and slow rebuilding. The freedom people talk about? It tastes different when paired with instant noodles and unpaid bills. It stings when the body is tired but the deadlines do not care. It hollows a person out when the world expects excellence but no one asks, “Are you okay?” No one claps when laundry is done after midnight. No applause for fixing a leaking faucet with borrowed tools and YouTube tutorials. No one celebrates surviving the week with barely enough for fare. These are not milestones—they are just Wednesday. But somehow, growth begins to take root. Learning how to stand on one’s own decisions, how to say no without guilt, and how to walk away from people who drain the spirit. Begin to notice the patterns: what makes a spiral, and what brings peace. To discover how much energy it takes to keep going, and finally give the self permission to rest. To realize that faith in God is not just something learnt at home; it is something to cling to now with both hands, because nothing else feels stable. In the middle of all the silence, prayer becomes less of a task and more of a lifeline.
Independence is not about being fearless. It is about doing things afraid, tired, and unsure. It is about falling down at 2 a.m., cleaning up your tears, and choosing to show up anyway. It is about finding your strength in silence. And realizing, in the middle of it all, that you are not really alone, because the One who sees it all, the One who’s never left, is still walking with you, step by step.
Written by Caryl F. Cachuela
sojcfoundationph.com 